We try to make thoughtful and discerning decisions about new wardrobe items before committing to them. We make sure they are comfortable, a good fit, in line with our figure flattering priorities, in line with our style goals, a great colour, an affordable price, and a relatively easy integration into our styles. When the boxes are ticked, we pull the trigger, rip off the tags, make the items ours, and enjoy our new wardrobe additions.
Unfortunately, new wardrobe items don’t always turn out to be as fab as we thought they would be. They become what YLF forum member unfrumped calls “delayed disasters”. Avoiding them entirely is a tall order.
My delayed wardrobe disasters are footwear. No matter how hard I try to make sure that a new pair of shoes will go the distance — carefully and thoroughly testing them at home for a couple of days — they can malfunction after I’ve committed to them. Two pairs of shoes that I bought this year were delayed disasters. A pair of pumps and a pair of slides. It’s very, very annoying, and a waste of money.
I debuted the citron pair of pumps with a pair of knee-highs in the late Spring while working with a client in her home for four hours. I even drove in them, which I don’t often do. They felt fine and sufficiently comfortable. So I wore them out to dinner early in the Summer without socks. It was a twenty minute walk to the restaurant, and my feet hurt terribly everywhere after fifteen minutes. We had to call Uber on the way back because I couldn’t walk home. Disastrous.
The pool slides were bought for my refreshed beach and pool capsule. They were comfy when I committed to them at home, but a disaster on the street when I put them through their paces. Their shaped footbed — much like the footbed of Birkenstocks — feels like rocks under my feet causing arch pain and burning on the soles of my my feet. They greatly aggravated my metatarsalgia. Luckily, I found out before we went to Greece for vacation, and did not pack them.
At this point, I can’t return the shoes because they’ve been worn outside. I also find it hard to pass them on so soon after buying them. Autumn is in full swing in Seattle, so I won’t be wearing them for at least six months. They’ll hibernate at home for now, and I’ll reassess next year. Blast. I just never really know how well shoes will work out until I wear them outside for a while. I wish it was different.
On a happier note, I’ll be sharing a few unexpected wardrobe winners tomorrow. Feel free to share your delayed wardrobe disasters in the comments section below.
